Latest revision as of 03:13, 6 July 2018

Former Chief Architect Claims Subsequent `Distortions' in Some of His
Approved Projects

By Anna Saghabalian and Nane Atshemian

Yerevan's ex-chief architect admitted today that some of the
construction designs he had authorized were later distorted.

Narek Sarkisian, with whom the most controversial construction projects
in the Armenian capital in recent years are connected, in particular
admitted that he had signed the permission for the construction work in
the area near the House of Chamber Music, which became a matter of
serious controversy between the House's administration and the developer
last week, but added: `I am sure some deviations have been made from the
original design.'

Sarkisian expressed the opinion that distortions were made also in the
originally approved plan of construction near the Opera House, an area
in central Yerevan now replete with open-air cafes and other
nightspots.

One of the main authors of today's architectural alterations in Yerevan,
Sarkisian currently oversees the construction project in Northern
Avenue, a new downtown thoroughfare envisaged as a modern boulevard
lined with shops, office buildings and up-market housing.

Sarkisian regrets the fact that this project is surrounded by an
atmosphere of controversy today as he believes that the appearance of
such an avenue is `the 80-year-old dream of Yerevan residents'.

To RFE/RL's observation that the emerging buildings in the avenue more
resemble the high-rise buildings of the Stalin period than modern city
constructions, Sarkisian said: `Unfortunately, I must agree with you in
the main.'

`I never considered the work of the chief architect to be a post or a
job that is done temporarily by someone who after quitting it no longer
bears responsibility,' Sarkisian told RFE/RL.

Sarkisian, who quit the post of the chief architect in 2004, is not
satisfied with the latest decision made by the Architectural Council of
Yerevan regarding the center of Yerevan ` the idea of turning the
section leading from Abovian Street to the Head Post Office into a
so-called `Old Yerevan' district.

He says that as a member of this council he was the only one who opposed
the location of the historical district in that part.

Meanwhile, the city authorities promise that the area will be turned
into a boulevard where people will walk in an environment typical of
early 20th-century Yerevan.

`I hope that the mayor of Yerevan will not be guided by the council's
decision which totally contradicts the master plans of Yerevan of all
times and the logic of our city's development in general,' he said.